


The Marks on Your Heart

by AstralArcher12



Category: The Flash (TV 2014)
Genre: 5 Things, Alternate Universe - Canon Divergence, F/M, M/M, Soulmate-Identifying Marks
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-10-09
Updated: 2018-08-10
Packaged: 2019-01-15 03:00:25
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 6
Words: 12,018
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/12312510
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/AstralArcher12/pseuds/AstralArcher12
Summary: Everyone has that one soulmark that tells them who their soulmate is.Barry Allen has 5. (Henry has 1 and then 2.)This is how he gets his marks and meets them.(This is how he gets his mark and meets the man with the same mark.)AkaThe 5 times Barry met his soulmates (and the 1 time Henry met his second one)





	1. Part 1: Iris (Irises)

**Author's Note:**

> Goes with the events of season one and second with some divergence from canon.  
> Enjoy!

The story of Barry meeting his first soulmate began before he even got his soulmark. It began when he was a toddler, fascinated with the pretty marks that rested over both his parents' hearts. On quiet days in the summer, you could find him outside laying on his fathers chest in the sun, tracing pattern of the beautiful soft pink flower that adorned his father chest, all the while, Henry would be enjoying the silence and read one of his books. And on some nights, when it was time for Barry to go to sleep, Henry could find his wife and son in Barry's nursery, Nora reading "The Runaway Dinosaur" and Barry sleepily listening with his right hand resting over Nora's mark. As he grew, Barry remember listening to his mother explain the meaning behind the symbol, a stick with a single snake wrapped around it and his fathers name written along the length of the stick. She would tell him how it meant that his father was a healer and helped people who are sick.  


  
Barry awoke on the night of his 10th birthday to a sharp pain blooming on his chest. Knowing immediately what it was, he race over to his mirror to see the source of the pain. After unbuttoning the top few buttons on his pajama shirt, he watched in amazement as a image appeared on his chest. Black lines slowly bleed out from a single point on his skin, drawing themselves outward before beginning to create the mark. The lines made twists and turns around the center point, weaving themselves together sometimes before moving away once more. Each time a space was closed off, color would beginning filling that point. First a deep violet, then a bright yellow, then finally a green. Once it was all done, four flowers rested on his chest. They were beautiful, each of flower's three outer most petals were deep violet that turned into yellow in the middle. The flowers were arranged in a diamond like pattern with leaves framing them all in lush green.  


  
Knowing that he couldn't keep his discovery to himself, he raced through his door and towards his parents' room. He slowed down, realizing how late it was, and carefully opened their door. Tiptoeing to his mom's side first, the child gently shook his mother awake.  


  
"Barry?" she whispered as she woke up. Blinking away her sleep, she lifted her head in worry that something had happened. "Its late, what's wrong?" The light on Henry's side of the bed clicked on showing that her husband had awaken as well. Barry just grinned and showed her the mark that now rest on his chest. Quickly recognizing what was being shown to her, Nora Allen let out a gasp. "Henry! Barry got his soulmark!" Henry quickly moved over to her side of the bed to see the mark. Both broke out in smiles at the sight. Henry reached over his wife and lifted his son onto the bed to give the boy a hug. The trio continued onward to whisper their excitement before all three finally returned to sleep.  


  
The next day, the family went out to the park to meet up with Barry's friend Iris and her father Joe. As the two friends ran over to hug each other, the moment their skin made contact, they felt a jolt run through them, up to their chests. Both yelped and jumped apart in surprise. Feeling a small itching on his chest, Barry pulled down his collar to see the name "Iris Ann West" now resting along the edge of the top most flower petal of his mark.  


  
Looking back up at his friend and to the sight of their approaching parents, the two friends shared the same look of shock. And as the parents arrived to make sure their childrens were alright, the two friends broke into a pair of grins.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Edit 11/30/18: minor edits made after rereading story and noticing few mistakes.


	2. Shawna (Smoke)

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Barry Allen meet Shawna Baez, your next markmate.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I managed to post the next chapter within a month of the pevious being posted! Yay!  
> Hopefully I can keep it up.  
> Enjoy!

His first non-romantic mark appeared when he first ran away to visit his dad jail. As he rode the bus on the way to the prison, he could feel a stinging sensation on the back on his neck, but chose to ignore it in favor of focusing on his task. It persisted the whole ride there and didn't stop until Joe and his father finally convinced him to go home with Joe. It wasn't until Joe finally ended his lecture about Barry running off and left Iris and him alone in the living room that he had Iris take a look at his neck. The gasp she let out told him that something was going on.

Forty-five minutes later Barry finally saw what made her gasp, two thirds of it spent trying to angle the mirrors they were using the right way so he could see the back of his neck. Just like Iris, he let out a gasp at what he saw.

There on the center of his neck, right below his hair line, was a strange black mark. It had undistinguishable shape, parts of it faded into his skin, while the center was completely opaque.

"It looks like smoke," Iris whispered after a moment. Barry found himself agreeing.

"What do you think it means?" Barry whispered back. Iris shrugged. "Maybe they're a firefighter?"

"Or an arsonist," She giggled. "Do I have one?" She quickly turned around and lifted her hair to show him her neck. It was bare except for a little beauty mark near the bottom.

"No. I wonder why I would have one but you don't. Our second marks matched," Barry frowned. Iris turned back to him and shrugged once more.

"Maybe its like friends, not everyone have the same ones. We'll just have to wait and see what this one will be like," She answered. Barry turned back to the mirror and held up the other once more to look at the mark.

"I hope they're nice," Barry commented.

XXXXXX

Shawna Baez was trouble, Barry could tell that the moment he saw her record. She was trouble, but she was also smart. Only a smart person could plan such a well-done breakout.

Barry could also understand why she did it, even if it wasn't right. Love makes me do crazy thing all the time. If Iris was in jail and Barry wasn't so aligned with the law, he would have broken her out too, along with getting his father out as well.

Barry also knew another thing about Shana.

She deserved better.

That was the thought that ran through his mind the most as he looked in at the heart-broken woman sitting alone in the car. It was there when she finally stepped out. And it was there when he pulled her into a hug.

He felt her tense up as he pulled her in, but quickly relaxed when she realized what he was doing. Her body shook as she began to cry and hug him back. Barry just stood there, allowing her to release her frustrations in peace.

After a few minutes, she finally pulled away. As she drew away, her cheek brushed against the exposed part of his. The jolt of electricity that sparked to life and ran to the back of their necks caused the pair to gasp and break apart more quickly.

The shock and look of knowing that was present on both of their faces told the other that they both felt the jolt. Slowly and in sync, the pair lifted a hand to touch the back of their necks. They both stood there for a moment in silence before Barry decided to speak.

"Shawna-" he began, but was interrupted as Cisco began calling his names over the comm. He angled himself away and listened to the other's talking and answering in return. Soon after, he was free to speak to the other meta. Turning back to her, he realized that whatever moment they were having before was gone. The look on her face and body language screamed how she just wanted to get out of the tunnel as soon as possible. With a sigh, Barry began speaking to her again. "Shawna, let's get you out of here."

XXXXXX

Barry hated the fact that they were locking her away like this. It wasn't like she a blood-thirsty killer like Nimbus is, she just wanted her boyfriend back and had stolen some money. She especially didn't deserve to be locked away and left with no one to keep her company but her own reflections.

He had no choice though. Her powers made it impossible for any normal prison to hold her, which meant that no real prison in existence could hold her. It killed him knowing this, knowing he couldn't do a thing to help his markmate.

He kept what happened in the tunnel a secret from the others. The moment he got home though, he found himself with a sense of deja vu as he stood once more in front of the mirror while hold another mirror behind him, looking at his mark. One thing had changed though. Now, just along the edge of his mark was the name LASHAWN BAEZ in black lettering.

He isn't sure what caused it, perhaps it was the knowledge of his markmate being his enemy or perhaps the fact he had to lock her away, but seeing her name resting there caused something to snap, but Barry found himself on the floor with tears forming in his eyes. This is how Iris found him when she got home. As she moved closer towards him and asked him what was wrong, he told her the truth, the mark's partner was found and she was locked away. With a sorrowful "Oh Barry,", Iris took him into her arms and sat there with him as the tears finally fell down his face.

They sat there in the hallway for over a hour before Barry's tears stopped. Then they sat in silences some more. After a few minutes, Iris whispered "What happened?" And he told her.

He told her how he worked with the Flash. He told her how they found and caught Shawna. Then finally, he told her how the one moment he was left alone with her, he gave her a hug, a hug that led to the discovery of them being markmates. There moments as Barry told his tale that he found himself struggling with the lies he fed to her. Never once, not even when he paused to think about he was going to continue his tale, did Iris speak. She just sat with him, holding him in her arms. When he finally finished, she waited a second to make sure he was truly done before finally saying, "It's going to be ok, Barry. We'll think of something."

XXXXXX

It wasn't until a few weeks later did Barry finally find himself alone with Shawna. It took some special planning and effort between Barry and Iris, with the help of Linda, who Barry once more, since incident with Captain Cold and Heatwave, found himself wishing was one of his markmates, and Eddie, who recently found his soulmate. With everyone's help, they managed to get the others out of the labs for once, Caitlin went off with Iris on a lunch date, Cisco was down at the precinct giving a course on how to properly handle the metahuman equipment, and finally Linda was interviewing Dr. Wells for the paper. And so, Barry found the chance to speak with his markmate.

To say it was ackward would be an understatement. Neither of them knew what to say or do, so they both sat inside Shawna's cell in silence. Finally, Shawna sighed and turned to him.

"Why are you here?" she asked. Barry opened his mouth, then closed it, then opened it, and finally closed it once more. "Is this about what happened in the tunnel?" Barry nodded.

"Do you know what's on the back of your neck?" Barry asked hesitantly. She shook her head.

"Never had the guts to," she replied. "Have you?"

"Yeah, when I first got it and a few weeks ago after we touched," he nodded and then a thought popping into his head caused him to chuckle. With a curious look from the other, he spoke again. "I just remembered, back when i first got it, my friend and I wondered what type of person it represented. Now I understand. It's smoke, just like the smoke your powers make everytime you use it." She smiled at her.

"Smoke huh? What did you original think it meant?" She smiled back.

"Thought you were maybe a firefighter," he shrugged. "My friend said that maybe you were an arsonist." Shawna laughed at that.

"An arsonist?"

"She was joking! We were like 12 at the time." They both sat there laughing. After a moment, Barry looked up at her. Seeing him looking at her, she stopped laughing.

"What?" she asked. Taking a deep breath, Barry answered.

"Do you want to see it?" he asked. At the raised brow he recieved, he quickly added, "The mark I mean." Shawna frowned and thought it over.

"Sure," she said after a moment. Barry rose up from his seat on the floor and slowly lifted his hands to pull back his cowl. When his face was finally revealed, Shawna gasped. "How old are you?" she asked a second later.

"25," he said.

"25? You look like you were 12 less than 5 years ago!" she laughed. He chuckled in turn before finally turned away from her and pulling down his cowl further to show his mark. He could here her getting up to look closer. "Of it uses my full name. Always likd Shawna better."

"Hey, as least your name isn't long enough to be its own full name," he said, "better Lashawn than Bartholomew."

"Bartholomew? Please tell me that's not really your name," she moved her head to the side so he could see her face. He gave a sheepish smile in return. "Man, that probably takes up the whole side of the mark, probably pushes you last name to another side." They both laughed. "Check for me, will you?" They both turned, her now facing away from him while he faces her. After she lifted her hair away from her neck, Barry could see the mark in full view. The very familar bright yellow lightning mark rested upon her neck, with the name BARTHOLOMEW ALLEN just barely managing to fit along one side of it.

"Good news, the name managed to stay on one side."

"And the bad?"

"Its bright yellow and stands out just as much as it does on my soulmate," he answered, not realizing what he said until it was too late. Shawna let go of her hair and turned back to him.

"Soulmate? You have another mark?" She furrowed her brows.

"Yeah, about that," he said and moved his hand to rub against his neck, "I kinda have three others beside you two."

"Three others! How many partners do you have?"

"Five in total, but your the second one I've found. The other three I have no clue who they are."

"Where are their marks?" Shawna's eyes moved over his body, as though she could find the marks underneath the speedster's suit.

"I have two on my chest, your's is of course on my neck, one on my arm, and finally one on my hip," he answeyed, pointing at the spots as he went.

"Woooow. You just full of love, aren't you?" she smiled.

"Yeah, my dad said that something similar when I told him about them all," he smiled back. They soon lapsed into silence, now unsure what to say next. Looking at her, Barry frowned. "I'm sorry we had to lock you up."

"It's ok, I understand in a way. It's not like I can equally be left anywhere else, not with my powers atleast," she nodded.

"You probably won't be in here for long, its not like you killed anyone. You were more interested in just getting Clay out of prison and running off. Still a crime, but probably not enough to give us enough reason to keep you here," he said. Looking him in the eyes, Shawna stared for a moment before saying.

"Promise?"

"I swear on my marks, I won't let you be stuck here forever."


	3. Mark (Storm Cloud)

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Barry meets Mark Mardon, the man who is/isn't your soulmate.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I fucking suck.  
> I had most of this done around the end of November and ended up not finishing it until just now. I got distracted by procrastination, my school finals, Christmas and finally i'm currently suffering from a cold. Luckily, I pushed myself to finish this.  
> I'm so sorry it took me this long.

Barry was never the strongest of children, especially compared to boys his age. Iris was always better at fighting than he was. His speciality was running.

Of course none of this stopped him from facing off with a trio of older boys when they started bothering Iris at school one day. Seeing them standing around her with mischievous grins on their faces while Iris wore a look of annoyance and discomfort sparked a fire in him that made him walk over instead of running off.

"Hey, whatever you're doing, stop it and leave Iris alone," Barry said when he arrived at the lunch table they were at. The boys looked up at him and laughed.

"Who's this, your little boyfriend?" the biggest of the trio, and obvious leader, asked in a mocking voice. The two other boys laughed even more at the remark.

"Yes I am. Why don't you guys just leave Iris alone," Barry replied.

"Maybe we don't want to, what are you going to, make us leave her alone?" the leader sneered, which made the two other boys laugh once more.

"Y-yes," Barry started hesitantly before stating it firmly. The leader looked back at the others boys and back at him with a raised eyebrow.

"And how do you plan to do that, loser? Gonna use some stupid little nerd stuff to make us go away?" he asked. Barry opened his mouth to answer, but he couldn't think of what to say. "How about you run along and stay out of it, nerd." He made a shooing motion and the trio turned back to Iris.

"No," Barry replied in a shaking voice, knowing that he was about to pay for it. The leader whipped is head back towards Barry and grabbed Barry's shirt collar, pulling him in and lifted him off the floor.

"Do you really not know when to quit or are you just stupid?" the leader barked and when Barry didn't reply, he continued. "How about I punch some sense into you, think that might fix it." As the leader pulled his arm back, Barry saw Iris try to intervene out of the corner of his vision, but the two other boys held her back with a pair of laughs. Barry squeezed his eyes shut and braced himself for the hit. Before the pain could be delivered, a voice yelled out from across the lunchroom.

"You will being doing no such thing!" Barry opened his eyes and turned his head to see a pair of furious looking teachers, one male and one female, had arrived. "Release those two at once!" The female one shouted. Barry landed with a stubble on the ground. The teachers marched over to the group and stepped in between the trio of boys and Barry and Iris. "You three are coming with me to the principal's office at once." The trio, looking defeated, walked off with her. The male teacher then turned to Barry and Iris.

"Are you two alright?" He asked, all fury washing away into concern. The pair nodded their heads. The teacher pulled out a pack of hallpass slips and began filling them out. "Alright, how about you two finish your lunches and then come down to the principal's office so that you can tell us your side of the story." They both thanked him and took two slips. The teacher then walked off, pausing in the doorway to speak to someone, and left to go to another part of the school. Barry and Iris felt their eyes go wide as they saw none other than Tony Woodward walk into the lunchroom and approach their table.

"Hey Allen," Tony said when he arrived at the table. "Jerk didn't rough you up too much, did he?"

"No," Barry shook his head. Looking at Tony for a second, Barry asked, "Were you the one who got the teachers?"

"What if I did, got a problem with that?" Tony defended.

"Not at all!" Iris answered. "That was actually very nice of you Tony, thanks." Tony looked surprised at the thanks, blush appearing on his cheeks.

"Yeah, Tony, thank you. You really saved me from a lot of trouble," Barry added.

"It was nothing," Tony shrugged. "It takes a lot of guts to stand up to Christopher and his goonies though. So, nice job on that one Allen." Tony softly punched Barry in the shoulder and proceeded to jump in surprise at the yelp Barry released at the same time. Tony rushed to apologize as Iris bolted over to check on him. "Oh man, i didn't mean to hit that hard! I'm sorry, are you ok?" Barry shook his head quickly and placed his hand on his left hip.

"It was you. Its my hip, its hurting for some reason," Barry answered. He lifted the hem of his shirt just in time to see a symbol of storm cloud finish forming on his hip.

"Its a soulmark? Don't you already have one of the back of your neck or something?" Tony asked in confusion.

"Yeah. This is actually my fourth one," Barry replied.

"Fourth one? How many people are you going to be in love with?" Tony frowned. Barry shook his head once more.

"Having a soulmark doesn't necessarily mean that you are lovers. Only people with soulmarks near or on their hearts are romantic marks Marks on other places just mean you will care for them in someway," Barry explained.

"Cool," Tony said and shared a smile with Iris.

"Yeah, I wonder what this one will be like," Barry smiled at the two and looked down at the mark, trace the outline of the single bolt of lightning that was coming down from the cloud.  
XXXXXX

Of the Mardon siblings, Mark Mardon was probably the one Barry would prefer to deal with. Mark Mardon was the more mature one of the pair, probably because he was the elder of the two. From what Barry has read about him, Mark, unlike his brother, was more careful in his crimes and avoided shooting cops if he could. Mark was also not as hotheaded and more reasonable to talk to. The only time he stopped listening to reason is if Clyde was ever put in harm's way by someone.

Which is exactly what Joe did.

One can only imagine what kind of consequences Clyde's death result in.

Barry needs to find Mark, and he needs to find him fast.

XXXXXX

Mark is his markmate.

Mark, who has a severely injured Joe handcuffed at the docks.

Mark, who has left Singh in the hospital.

Mark, who is going to kill so many people, Iris included, with a giant tidal wave.

Mark, whose bare fist connecting with the exposed part of Barry's cheek is the only reason they know that they're markmates.

Mark, who won't listen to reason.

Barry couldn't breathe.

Barry couldn't stop to think, he didn't have time.

He had to run.

He had to run fast.

Its his only hope of stopped his markmate from hurting everyone he loved.

Run Barry run.

XXXXXX

Mark didn't expect to see the Flash.

Mark, who hurt Joe. But he didn't.

Mark, who put Singh in the hospital. Singh is fine and probably off somewhere with his fiance being happy.

Mark, who was sending a tidal wave towards the city. No he's not, he never even thought of it.

Mark, who could have killed Iris. She's at Jitters with Linda and Eddie, there was no tidal wave.

Mark, who was his markmate. No he's not. Not in this timeline.

Mark, who froze in the middle of him threatening to send a tidal wave towards the city when Barry gave out a cry and grabbed at his left hip. The shock and concern on his face was all Barry could see as he collapsed on the ground, ripped off the upper part of his suit to see what was wrong.

Barry almost didn't hear Cisco and Caitlin letting out gasps over the sound of blood rushing through his ears as everyone watched in horror as the name MARCUS MARDON slowly disappeared from above the storm cloud that rested on Barry hip. Barry could feel tears stinging his eyes from the pain. It felt like the name was being carved right out of his flesh.

Though it only lasted less than two minutes, it felt like the pain went on for hours. Then the pain slowly faded away, along with the evidence of Mark's name ever being on his skin.

The sound of a hand hit glass jolted Barry back into reality. His redden eyes looked up to meet with Mark's pained filled ones. The expression that he wore was almost unbearable to see.

"How?" he whispered as they stared at one another.

"You wouldn't believe me if I told you," Barry replied.

"Try me," Mark said in a soft voice. Before Barry or him could say another word, the doors leading to Mark's holding cell slid shut. Barry's head turned to see Wells positioned in front of the controls.

"I think you've said enough, Mr. Allen," Dr. Wells said in shockingly cold voice. Shook by the tone of the doctor's voice, Barry quickly pulled his suit back on and ran off.

XXXXXX

Barry had switched out of his suit and into some normal clothes the moment he arrived home. He sat on his bed and stared at the mirror that rested on his wall in silence, trying not to think of everything that has happened. Not about how Mark was both his soulmate and not. Not about how Mark almost killed Iris and not. Especially not about the pain he felt when his mark reverted back to its original form or the hole that seemed to appear in his heart when it appeared. He just sat there and thought of nothing until Iris came home. He sat silently as she called his name and eventually came upstairs to find him sitting there.

"Barry, is everything alright?" she asked with concern in her voice.

"Iris, there's something I have to tell you, something I've been keeping a secret and should have told you a long time ago," he answered and lowered his gaze to the ground.

"You tell me anything, Barry. What is it?" Iris gave a reassuring smile.

"You should sit down first." Barry nodded Iris to his left and stood before her. Taking a deep breath, he looked at her with determination in his eyes. "First, I should tell you-" In a flash, he was in his suit once more, "I'm the Flash."

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Poor Barry and poor Mark, dont worry! I plan to fix this up eventually. You just have to wait to see what happens.  
> Fingers crossed that I dont take almost two months to post the next one!


	4. Part 4: Axel (Diamonds)

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Barry meets a boy when he is young, and a troublemaker when he's older.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> FINALLY I'M FINISHED!  
> I'm so sorry it took so long. No inspiration + school starting up again equals a bad combo of distraction.

Barry just didn't understand. His father didn't kill his mother, the man in yellow did. Why wouldn't they just listen to him. Well if they would let his father go, Barry would just have to get him himself.

Joe couldn't help him, he said Barry was wrong, that there was no man in yellow. Joe thought Barry was crazy and thought his father really did kill his mother.

Iris couldn't help him. Even if she believes Barry's story, he couldn’t risk getting her in trouble. Soulmate or not, Iris deserved a better life than what he would have if his plan succeeded.

So Barry was alone.

His fifth and final soulmark didn't appear until around his third visit to the local library, going over old blueprints of Iron Heights Prison.

It started out as a subtle itching sensation which grew until it was like his entire right forearm was being held inside a raging fire.

Barry bit hard on his bottom lip in an effort to keep his screams inside. It wouldn’t do to bother the other patrons. He quickly pulled back his shirt sleeve to see the source of his very familiar pain.

There resting on his surprisingly calm looking skin was a bright new mark. It was four diamonds arranged in a single row. The first and third diamond were that of a deep blue, while the second and fourth diamonds were of a bright yellow. The moment Barry began to trance his left hand’s fingers across the newly made mark, the fierce pain bleed away to nothing.

After that, there was the same usual excitement he shared with Iris when he showed her his new mark. They, along with Tony, speculated on what kind of person his new markmate would be for the next few weeks or so. Then everything went back to normal, or what as normal as his life could be.

Then, months after he got his mark, he made a new friend. They met a carnival that was visiting. The boy had a mischievous air to him. They had fun all day, running around, playing games and riding the rides. It came to an end with a incident that seemed to have happened so fast that he hardly remembered what happened. It involved cotton candy, monkeys, and lots of bouncing balls.

What he remembered the most was the furious looks on Joe and what he presumed was his friend's mother's faces. They were both pulled away from each other so suddenly and quickly that they never got to say goodbye. It wasn't until it was too late that Barry realized that in all of the fun they were having, he never once asked for the boy's name.

It was as they were being pulled away from each other, they both reached out to the other trying to fight against their guardians' pulls. Only their fingertips touched for the briefest moment. But it was enough for the effect to take place.

Joe in his anger, never thought to see if Barry's cries were more than just the cries of an angry child. It wasn't until Barry's friend was long lost that he let got of the boy. The moment he was free, Barry pulled his sleeve to reveal the newly formed name that sat on the outline of his diamonds.

It took weeks for Joe to finally get Barry to forgive him. Though even now, Barry feels like he may have still not forgiven Joe for taking him away from his markmate like that. Barry tried to the longest time to find his friend, but to no prevail.

There was no one who went by the name ALEXANDER JESSE.

XXXXXX

Axel Walker was a dangerous person. And his mentor, James Jesse, was even more so.

It would be one thing if he had just simply broken Jesse out of jail. It was another when they took Barry's father as his hostage.

It was bad enough that Wells was possibly the man who killed his mother, his father being in harm's way made it a lot worse.

Barry was very lucky that it all turned out well in the end. His father was safe and Wells was still none the wiser of his suspicion.

Then Barry had to go to work and deal with the aftermath. It was just his luck that he was the one who had to take Walker's prints.

It was going so well. He walked in, had Walker stick his hands through the jail cell bars. There was two police officers with him. It went to hell when he pushed up Walker's sleeve.

There sitting bright as can be on Walker's right forearm was the exact same mark that sat on Iris's chest, Mark's hip, and Shawna's neck. And the lighting mark's edge in deep black lettering was the name BARTHOLOMEW ALLEN.

Looking up from the mark into Axel's eyes, Barry whispered in confusion "Alexander?"

"What?" Axel now looked just as confused. Barry quickly pulled back his own right sleeve to show off his own mark. Axel's eyes widen in shock and looked at him in even more confusion. "Barry?"

Barry couldn't help back feel warmth in his chest at the thought of finally finding Alexander again.

A cough from behind him washed it away like a cold bucket of water.

Spinning around, he froze in fear at the sight of Captain Singh now standing with the two other officers. He opened his mouth, but Captain cut him off before he could speak.

"My office, now," he commanded. And there he went. Once inside and with the door closed, his captain turned to face him once more.

"I swear i didn't know it was him. We only met once, when we were kids!" Barry rambled off. Singh lifted his hand to silence him once more.

"I could tell from the surprise on both your faces," he stated. "Now, you will be taken off this case for obvious reasons and you will give all the evidence and anything else related to the case to Jones. I don't want to hear anything if, and, or but. Understand?" Barry nodded in silence. "You may go, and make sure not to speak to anyone else about this." When Barry went to leave, Singh held his hand up once more. "And Barry? Congratulations on find him again." Barry and him shared a brief smile before Barry left.

XXXXXX  
He doesn't know what happened with the two other officers that witnessed the incident, but they kept their silence. When he had walked passed them that same day, they just nodded at him and didn't say a word.

Barry did as he was told and didn't speak a word about the marks to anyone else, except of course Iris. She was excited and shocked at the story. He made sure she promised to keep it a secret as well, especially secret from Joe. Barry didn't even want to imagine how he would react.

When Axel and Jesse both escaped without notice from prison some months later, Barry had no clue about it. It just so happened to have taken place the very hour he was surrounded by several other people who could attest to his innocence.

Then one night, few days after the escape, he got a package in the mail. Opening it up, Barry found a stuffed monkey in a clown outfit, a small bag of cotton candy, and a single yellow and blue bouncy ball. A small card inside with the items sat innocently inside. In messy handwriting it read "Here's to all the future adventures we'll have -A.J."

Barry couldn't help but smile.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thank you everyone who read this. Don't forgot to leave a kudos if you liked it and comment even if you didn't.  
> If i made any spelling mistakes, tell me so i can fix it up. Thank you.
> 
> Next up: Barry's final markmate. Good new though is the fact i've more ideas for how it will go.  
> Hope to see you guys again soon!


	5. Len (Ice)

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The first time Barry meets Leonard Snart  
> then the second  
> then the third  
> and the time after  
> until finally, the fifth time is the charm.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Finally! Its finished!  
> School time is the devil when it comes to writing (especially my public speaking class, why does it have to be a requirement for my major?)  
> I'm so sorry for taking so long. Its been two months since this was updated my apologies.  
> So without further ado, onto the story!

It was on night that _**It**_ that Barry gained his second mark. With all the events and emotions he experienced that night, it was no surprise he didn't notice its formation. Though, years later, after thinking about all that happened that night, he could possibly place its formation beginning right as Joe was taking him to his car. The pain of his mother's death and his father's arrest hid the pain of the mark forming quite well. It probably would have taken him long than it did for him to have even noticed the mark if it weren't for Iris showing up at the police station that same night. 

Barry had been sitting alone in one of the interrogation rooms when the door opened and Iris slipped inside. She put her finger up to her lips to keep him from notifying everyone outside of her appearance. She crept over to him, still holding up her finger.

"Barry, I have another mark," she whispered and pulled down her pajama collar to show a new mark resting beside his own. It was pattern of light blue, so light it was almost white, frost-like cracks that came together to form what looked like a snowflake. Barry was shocked to see it there.

"How?" he whispered back.

"I don't know," she shrugged, "It just showed up a few hours ago. I didn't even know you could have more than one. Quick, check to see if you have anything new on your body." Barry lift up his shirt to check his lower torso first, then he check his arms and legs but nothing. He lifted the back of his shirt for Iris to see his back, but still nothing. Finally, he pulled on his collar to see down his chest and he saw something different. Unbutton the first button on his shirt, he showed Iris an identical mark to her own sitting just below her Irises. 

"What do you think it means?" 

"The fact its on both of us or the mark itself?"

"Both i guess?" Barry shrugged and the two were silent for a moment as they tried to think. "Does this mean we're not soulmates or that we'll find someone else who we'll love just as much?"

"Can you even do that?" Iris frowned.

"My mom had a friend who was in a relationship with two other people, a lot of people didn't like it, especially as all three of them were women," Barry replied. Iris's eyes widened in surprise. "Wait, if we both have the mark and we might both love the person, then does that mean one of us will like both boys and girls?" Iris gasped at the idea, but then it was replaced with a determined look on her face.

"Well, whether they're a boy or a girl, we'll still love them no matter what. They're our soulmate after all!" Barry quickly nodded in agreement. 

Both children's heads turned to look at the door to the room when it made the sound of it being opened. In the doorway stood a surprised Joe standing with another officer Barry had never seen before.

"Iris, what are you doing here? How did you even get into the room?" Joe questioned. 

"I heard Barry was here, so i came here as fast as i could. I had Grandmom give me a lift. She's waiting in the lobby by the way," Iris explained. 

"I see. Well then, go wait with your grandmother, We need to talk to Barry alone," Joe sighed. Both officers moved to let Iris out. Just before she was completely out, Iris looked back at Barry and then up to her father.

"Is Barry in trouble?" she asked. 

"No he's not, we just need to ask him about some stuff. Now go," Joe said. Iris nodded and ran off.  
The men moved in more and closed the door behind them. Together they moved to sit across the table from Barry. "Now Barry, do you think you could tell us what happened at your house tonight?"

XXXXXX

There are several things Barry now knows.

Dr. Wells is the Reverse Flash and the man who killed his mother.

Wells's real name is Eobard Thawne and Eddie related to him some how.

Wells secretly rebuilt the Particle Accelerator and plans to turn it on.

If everyone in the pipeline isn't out of there when its turned on, they will all die.

They less than 36 hours to get the metahumans out of there and somewhere safer.

Its been decided that they will be sent off to Lian Yu, thanks to a suggestion by Oliver.

Since the police can't help them transport them, Barry will need to help from a less than legal source.

XXXXXX

The first time Barry met Snart, he had just been starting out as a forensic scientist at CCPD. There had been a case he was working on involving a robbery. Or more like he was helping a more senior forensic scientist work on the case. The pair were in the lab one day, getting frustrated as they struggled to find any evidence to properly identify the perp. They both jumped when they heard a commotion from downstairs. Exiting the room they were in and looking down the bannister, they could see a pair cops leading a man in a black leather jacket into the station. the man seemed very nonchalant on the matter. Barry hurried down the stairs and turned to the first officer next to him, Joe surprisingly enough.

"What's going on?" Barry asked, watching the criminal as he walked past them towards the interrogation rooms. He seemed to have caught the man's attention, as their eyes connected for the briefest moment.

"That's the guy who we think may have committed the robbery. It matches his m.o., all we need is proof," Joe answered as he watched as well. "So, find anything?" 

"Nothing," Barry shook his head. "No dna, nothing we can trace to pinpoint potential leads, nothing."

"Damn," Joe muttered. "Well, I'm sure you two will find something eventually. If not, don't be too hard on yourself, he's just that kind of criminal. Never leaving behind anything we can pin on him." With that, Joe walked away as Barry turned back to watch as the man disappearred around the corner at the end of the hall.

XXXXXX

Saints and Sinners was what you would expect from a bar who's usual costumers aren't often from the right side of the law. And fortunely for Barry, it was also deserted expect for him, the bartender, and the person he needed to see.

"I need your help," Barry said he approached a pool table.

"Must be pretty desperate to come asking for my assistance, but I'll bite. What to you need?" Snart asked as he leans on the table from the other side.

"Help transporting some people out of the city."

"How many?" Didn't even bat an eye, not that that was expect of a criminal of his stature.

"Five. Five very bad, very angry people who have powers," Barry answered, trying to get his cause across. 

"Power, hmm?" Snart gave a slight smile, most likely knowing who he was talking about. "What do you want me to do? Freeze the problem? Protect you from them if anything goes wrong?" Barry nodded, feeling a knot of guilt and dread forming in his gut. Snart stood up and turned to face him completely. "First rule of business: always protect yourself." Barry felt himself becoming angry at the casualness of the other.

"I'm not gonna help usher your enemies out of town," Snart said as he rounded the table and began to walk away.

"I don't want them gone, I want them safe!" Barry hissed as he moved in front of Snart. When the other man stopped and raised his eyebrow, he continued. "If we don't get away from where they are now, they will die."

"Wouldn't that make things easier for you? They die, you won't have to worry about the very bad, very dangerous people anymore," Snart sneered. Barry felt his anger flare up even more at the suggestion. 

"They don't deserve to die! Out of the five of them, only two of them are truly dangerous, one who is an assassin who can turn into dead gas and the other is man who can shoot plasma beams out of his eyes," Barry felt his reserves come apart as his began to spill everything. The other three are dangerous but not as bad. Bivolo, i'm not sure about, he was only interested in robbing banks, but his powers to influence people's emotions can't be left without control.Mardon is angry about his brother's death. And Shawna! Shawna especially shouldn't be there, but she can't be trusted to not cause trouble. They might be bad, but they don't deserve to die." Barry felt unshed tears in his eyes as he finished. Snart watching him as he tried to regain his breath for a moment.

"That's a compelling agrument," he said as step stepped over to the bar. "But if I'm going to help you out..." He moved an empty glass off of a napkin and began writing something on it. "I'm going to need something in return." Barry stepped closer to see what he was writing.

"Like what?"

"This." Snart turned the napkin towards him. Looking down Barry felt himself chuckle as he read the words "Tell me why they matter so much to you." That was something Barry couldn't trust Snart not to take advantage of just yet.

"No. This is impossible," Barry shook his head, looking at the other once more. "I can't do this."

"Then I can't help you," Snart replied without a beat.

"Wha- There has to-" Barry caught himself before he could yell, glancing over at the bartender still fixing Snart his drink. "Snart, there has to be something you want that I can get." 

Snart folded his hand and took a moment before answering.

"Let me think about it." And with that he began to leave once more. Barry watched helpless as the man left.

XXXXXX

The second time they met, it was after Barry became the Flash and Snart had tried to steal the Kahndaq Dynasty Diamond. He didn't even recognize him until after he found his picture in the mugshots. Of course, Barry didn't mention that to Joe, that would have been weird. Later, after the death of the guard and what he was sure going to his death, the curiosity he once felt for the man had been long lost, only for hate to be left in its place.

XXXXXX

He should have known that getting Snart's help wouldn't be easy. Actually he did know, but he didn't expect this high of a cost. To erase all and any data that involved Snart wouldn't be easy, but Barry didn't care, if it meant that the metahumans would be safe from harm, he would do anything. 

XXXXXX

The third time they met, the hate he felt grew even more and frustration was added to the mix. All those people who were put in harm's way by Snart and his pyromanic partner, so many people who could have been killed. And for what? The Flash's attention? What kind of man does this just so he could have his enemy's focus on him? Of course, every time this comes up, Barry can help of think of the stories he hears of a dark, gloomy city miles away, where a man in black armor and a man in clown make-up have this continuous dance routine that neither would ever want to give up. 

XXXXXX

Murphey's Law is a bitch to mess with, so it was to be expected that this plan would go wrong. What Barry didn't expect was it to go this wrong. Simmons is dead, the plane was destroyed and the others were almost killed. It surprised Barry how easy it was for Snart to convince the other metahumans to join him, though it probably was helped by how easily he took out Simmons. Left with a bruised body and pride, Barry could only lay there and watch as they all drove off into the night.

Barry should have know that this night was only to get to worse before it got better.

It wasn't even two hours later that Thawne showed up to cause trouble. 

XXXXXX

The fourth and most recent time they met, Cisco and his brother almost died. This was also Barry's almost breaking point. He was almost tempted, back when they were alone in the forest, to take Snart to jail, secret identity be damned. After everything, Snart just got to walk away, while Cisco and his brother were most likely traumatized in the process. He hated it.But there was nothing he could do. And that's what he hated the most, being powerless against this man who had a heart as cold as ice.

XXXXXX

Barry could feel Iris tighten her grip on his hand as they drew closer to the warehouse Snart had given him the address to. They both remained silent as they entered the building and made their way through its long entryway hallway. The sound of people talking foretold the nearing end of the hall. As the couple finally reached the end, they both carefully peeked into the room that it lead to. 

The room was enormous and seemed to be the main living area. There were stairs leading up to the second level where dozens of rooms were placed, most likely the bedrooms for the warehouse's occupants. The occupants in question seemed to all be gather in the main area at the moment. It almost surprised Barry how many of the people there were ones he knew.

Shawna and Mark sat together on the sofa in the middle, seeming to be holding a conversation of some sort. Lisa was Hartley over by some computers with Axel joining her from the other side of the genius. James Jesse was telling Bivolo a story from his youth that involved an array of different colored paint bombs being used to blow up some businesses. Len and Mick were over in a corner having what seemed to be more of an argument than a conversation if the frowns on their faces were anything to go by.

The feeling of being watched brought Barry's attention from the scene before him and had him turning to head to find himself looking right into the eyes of Kyle Nimbus who stood only a few feet away from him and Iris. Nimbus said nothing, instead cleared his throat to draw the attention of the others to the newly arrived pair. The sound of conversation came to a halt. Looking back, he could see that all eyes were now on them. Everyone had the same blank look on their face as they watched in silence. suddenly, it was broke by the sound of Snart talking.

"Barry, so glad you could finally join us," he said and he approached the pair. "And you must be Iris, Barry's girlfriend, right?"

"That's right, and you must be Leonard Snart, Barry's told me about you," Iris greeted back with a schooled look on her face. Barry could see a flicker of a smirk appear on Snart's face for a second before disappearing once more.

"Nothing too bad I hope," he replied.

"No, just the murder, kidnapping, robbery, attempted murder on himself, and all the other crimes you've committed, and that's only what you've done since you got the cold gun, not involving the stuff before then. So, nothing too bad at all," Iris smiled wide, showing off her teeth like a she-wolf would to her foe. That made Snart smirk once more, but this time the smirk stayed on his face.

"Thank goodness for that," he said before turning to Barry. "Quite the woman. Anyway, I must say working with you was fun, and I say that if this is what happens everytime we work together, well I certainly wouldn't mind doing this again."

"Yeah, well maybe next time we should make sure the people we're helping know about the plan, I'm still sore from the hits I took from Mark and Simmons. And maybe warn me next time if someone owes you money, I almost broke character when you shot Simmons," Barry grimaced, rubbed his chest with his free hand.

"That was actually a lie, couldn't let him kill you, could I? After all, you did set up this whole escape plan for them," Len nodded. 

"He did what?" Mark asked in shock from where he was by the couch, seeming to have stood up at the reveal. Everyone but Snart, Barry and Iris seemed to share his shock.

"Yeah, Barry here, set this whole thing up. Couldn't let you stay down in the pipeline to die, but he also couldn't just let you all be shipped off like cattle to live the rest of your lives locked away on some island. So, he while he pretended to be having me help them take you to be shipped off, he and I made a plan to break you lot out and made sure to have you join me so that you won't run off and go any rampages. Thinks I might be a good influence on you for some reason," Snart explained.

"You didn't tell me anything about this!" Lisa frowned and crossed her arms in anger that he hid the real plan from her.

"Sorry, Sis. Couldn't risk it, had to make it look like we were the ones doing the double-crossing, not Barry," Len apologized without real remorse. Suddenly, Barry found his arms full as Shawna popped over to him to pull him in a tight hug. Quickly let go of Iris's hand, he returned the hug and held her just as tight as the feeling of tears landing on his shoulder appeared. He held her there until he felt her release her grip and pull away from him. She looked at him with a tight smile and redness in her eyes.

"Thank you, Barry. I should have known you wouldn't really do this to us," she thanked. Barry smiled back at her with warmth spreading in his heart.

"Why do I have a feeling like there's more to this than meets the eye?" Hartley asked, looking over at Axel who was still standing by his side, though with a smile now adorning his own face. Shawna looked over at the pair before glancing back at Barry, both sharing the same question in their minds. With a nod from him, Shawna turned to face the others.

"Barry and I are markmates, we both have each other's marks on the back of our necks," she explained, turning around and pulling up her hair to show off her lightning mark. Barry could see Mark open his mouth to say something, but Axel beat him to it.

"Woah, you too?" Axel shouted excitedly. 

"What do you mean 'you too?'?" Hartley frowned at the other. Axel ran over to Shawna and pulled back his right sleeve to show off his own lightning mark bearing Barry's name on his forearm. Barry couldn't help but smile even more at the child-like delight that Axel was wearing.

"Barry and I found each other when we were kids at a carnival, but we haven't seen each other until recently! When did you two connect?" Axel asked with glee. 

"When we first met a few mouths ago, found out after he had caught me," she replied with her brows furrowed, put off by how excited the other was. 

"Of course I got the short end of the stick. The timeline where we connected got erased when he had to traveled back in time to stop me from destroying the city," Mark whined and he joined the the pair and lifted his shirt to show of the same lightning mark rested just above his left hip, but unlike the others, his lacked the bold lettering that ran along its side. 

"How many markmates do you have?" Bivolo called over from where he was. 

"Only three, i have two soulmates though," Barry shrugged. He could see Bivolo mouth to himself "only three" in a sarcastic way. 

"Who are the other two?" Axel turned to him and tilted his head in curiosity.

"Iris and someone we have found yet," Barry answered.

"Are we just going to ignore the part about him time traveling?" Hartley asked in disbelief at the fact they aren't as interested as he is about it.

"I'm sure Barry here would have no problem telling you all about it another time. But right now, he and Miss West probably have to be get going, they only meant to pop in to check up on us," Snart answered with a wave of his hand. He stepped in between the the couple and the others, carefully pulling off the gloves he was wearing. "As I said before, it was fun working with you. We can work with you another time." He looked over to Iris as he added, "Both of you." With that he held out his now bare hands. Barry and Iris looked at each other with suspicion in their eyes before each other taking his hand in their own at the same time, both feeling sparks of electricity run up their arms from the grasps and ending on their chests. Their grasps tightened at the feeling and they could both feel as Snart tightened his own in return, no doubt feeling double what they were feeling. 

As the feeling faded from all their chests, the trio all let out a breath. Without a word, Snart let go of the pairs hands and walked away. Barry and Iris could only watch in stunned silence as he did. Everyone in the room moved and made a sound as he disappeared into another hallway. Moments later, Lisa stormed off after him. 

"Do you guys do what I think you just do?" Mark asked after she too was gone. Barry and Iris could only nod in return. "Ok then, you two really should be off, I'm sure you have other things to do besides this in to what will surely be a screaming fest on Lisa's end. I find a way to contact you some other time so that I don't have to be the only who hasn't connect yet. See you then." Mark finished with a clap of his hands and walked off into another room. Slowly, each of the other rogues began to go about their business once more. Realizing the was nothing left to say, Barry and Iris turned together and exited through the same hallway as they came in through.

It was as the couple was walking up to their house that Barry's phone buzzed with a new text. Reading it, Barry showed Iris the message.

_Unknown Number: Lunch at the motorcar around 12 on thursday? We have some things to discuss._

Sharing a look with his soulmate, Barry quickly sent back their reply.

_You: Its a date_

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Barry's main storyline has come to an end. But don't worry folks, you'll see more in Henry's side of the story.  
> Until next time (and hopefully soon), take care!  
> If anyone noticed any mistakes, feel free to tell me, all types of comments are welcome!


	6. Jay Garrick (name)

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> How Henry meets Jason Garrick.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> After 4 long months, i've finally finished this chapter, i'm so sorry for taking so long. Buts its finally here!

Henry Allen loved and will always love his wife. She was everything to him, without her he would be nothing. He could never imagine ever wanting to ever do her harm. He didn’t even like making her frown, let alone murdering her. He would rather die than hurt her. But the police seemed to think otherwise.

 

The day of his thirteenth birthday, when he received his mark, he knew even before knowing the meaning of the flower that he would love his soulmate no matter what. After that, where ever he went, he would look around and try to see if he could figure out if his soulmate was among the people around him or not. Each time, he would have this little voice telling him “not yet”.

 

It wasn’t until his second year in college, a friend of his was introducing him to their new roommate, Nora Thompson. The moment he laid eyes on her, even before they shook hands, he knew she was the one, simply from the way her smile seems to brighten his world. The look she gave him after their names appeared on each other’s hearts, the look of unconditional love and joy, caused him to decide one thing. He would never love anyone anymore or as much as he would love Nora.

 

He had no problem being proved wrong a few years later.

 

The day Nora told him she was pregnant, he first collapsed into the chair Nora made sure he was near for the announcement, and afterwards, he strung up and jumped around with joy. Nearly nine months later, Henry was felt like the happiest man in the world. Barry’s birth was one of the happiest moments for Henry, rivaling that of him meeting Nora. Seeing her laying in that hospital bed with Barry wrapped up in her arms, Henry made a silent promise to himself. He would do anything and everything he could to protect his precious family, even if it meant dying for them to live. Shame life decided to never give him the chance.

 

Henry had read dozens of books on the subject of soulmates. He remembered reading how when one soulmate died in unnatural ways, the moment their heart stopped, the partner would feel it and would often die from the pain of it. In a few cases, the partner was lucky, or maybe unlucky depending on your view, and would survive, but only to be left in a coma that an even fewer amount would come out of. Barry was very lucky Henry was unconscious when Nora was killed or he maybe have lost two parents that night.

 

Later on, after he was placed in a holding cell for the night, Henry finally decided to take a look at his mark. After slowly and shakenly unbuttoning his shirt, Henry pulled back the material and felt his heart stopped. He could even breath. There on his chest, where there was once a beautiful pink carnation resting on top of his heart with his wife’s name written loving underneath, now rested only a colorless outline of the once bright flower, and underneath was a horrid and cruel black rectangle that covered her name.

 

Henry fell from where his sat on the cell’s little cot and onto his knees as he tried to breath. Taking in shaky breathes, the only thing that came out was sobs as Henry realized that his Nora was no more and that everyone thought that he was the one who did it.

 

XXXXXX

 

The moment Henry saw the black hole in the sky, he felt fear. Fear for the city, fear for all of the citizens, fear for his friends, fear for himself, and most of all, fear for Barry. He knew that somehow, Barry was involved in this, and it scared him to not know what was going to happen to him. But Henry did know one thing, no matter what, Barry was going to try and stop it. That boy was too good and like Henry not to.

 

It took him a moment to notice the strange, but familiar tingling sensation on his right arm. Rolling back his sleeve, he watched in confusion and curiosity as, almost like if someone was writing it, letters appeared on the inside of his forearm. Along the length of the forearm he watched a J then an A followed by an S O and N all appeared. Soon more letters appeared a bit over from the five letters. When the sensation finally stopped, the letters all came together to read JASON GARRICK in what looked like handwriting. Not just any handwriting though, Henry knew the handwriting anywhere. It was his own. He stood staring at the name as it sat alone in bold black on his arm, no symbol or drawing to go with it, just a name.

 

How odd.

 

A rumbling and the ground shaking brought him out of his thoughts and back to the problem at hand. Henry looked back outside his window just in time to see the last traces of the once large black hole shrink out of existence. Feeling relief wash over him, he returned to his bunk and sat down. He could hear chatter begin outside his cell as the other inmates began trying to speculate on what just happened. Henry decided not to join in and instead chose to study his new mark instead. Tracing the letters, he began to wonder what is meant.

 

Who is Jason Garrick?

 

XXXXXX

 

Henry liked Barry’s soulmates, each and every one of them. With them, he could see what their connection with Barry was.

 

Iris was the first person outside of family Barry ever loved. Iris was Barry’s grounding rod, the one who would help pull him back to earth when he got lost in the clouds and beyond. No matter where he went, he always knew how to return to her arms.

 

Shawna understood Barry’s devotion to the ones he loves and both knew they would do anything for the ones that held their hearts. Henry couldn’t help but smile when he learned about her interest in the medical career. The look on her face when he gave her some old medical textbooks that he managed to keep from his college days warmed his heart. Henry had gained one new friend that day.

 

Mark represented Barry’s protective nature. Mark did everything he could to take care of his brother, just as Barry does everything he could for Joe and Iris and everyone. He also was the only person who could handle the lightning in Barry’s veins, as he had lightning of his own in his. Often, when their hands would touch, lightning seemed to jump between them. And every time, they would look at their hands and then to every other before laughing together in amusement. Mark seemed to have a cautious but mild respect for him after learning about what happened with the Reverse Flash.

 

Axel was a troubled but sweet boy. Just like Barry he was bubbly and protective of his father. Even despite how he first met Axel, Henry had no grudge against him, the desire to look good for one’s idol and make them happy can be a troubling thing. It may have helped that Axel, and oddly enough James, apologized for kidnapping him and putting him in harms away.

 

Finally, Leonard Snart was a mysterious man. Henry wondered if his connection to Barry was influenced by how he was the ying to Barry’s yang or that Barry brought out the good in him while Snart helped Iris keep Barry in the real world. Snart’s habit of thinking things out and making plans certainly helped with Barry’s habit of running into things without thinking. Henry still laughed to this day remembering after his release and meeting all of Barry’s mates and the look on Barry’s face when Snart and Rory greeted him by “Doc Allen” and both gave him a hug. He laughed even harder to everyone’s shock at him telling them how he had made friends with the duo when patching them up after fights while in prison.

 

The happiness each person baring his son’s lightning mark shared with him filled Henry’s heart with warmth. He could only hope that one day he could get a sense of it with Garrick too.

 

XXXXXX

 

Henry was going to die.

 

He didn’t mind it, having made his peace with the world a long time ago, but he just wished he didn’t have his life end like this, in the house where his wife died and in front of the tear stained face of his son.

 

When Henry was introduced to Jay Garrick, he placed it cool and said nothing about the mark underneath. He asked the man if Jay was nickname and hearing him say his name was actually Jason made his heart skip a beat. Never once did he show his worry and curiosity. Even then, he knew something wasn’t right about the man who apparently had the same name as his mark. Now, he understood why.

 

He could barely hear whatever it was that Jay, no, that Hunter was saying over the sound of his heart beating rapidly in his chest and of blood rushing in his ears. Frankly, he didn’t care. No matter what that monster said, nothing could justify hurting his son this way. Knowing his time was running out, he began to speak.  Trying to convey the love he felt for his son before it was too late. Feeling the arm around his neck disappear, he knew his time was up.

 

“Remember your mom and I love-” he said with desperation, but before he could finish he felt a gust of wind blow furiously against him and the evil speedster, knocking both down. Everything afterwards occurred so fast, he still wasn’t sure what had happened. Shawna appeared before him in a puff of smoke before grabbed him and teleporting again to the street outside. Looking back, he saw what bright blue light shine from inside the house before disappearing a second later. He could hear the sound of sirens approaching from down the street. Through the doorway came Snart and Mark practically carrying a distressed Barry outside of the house. The moment Barry looked up and saw Henry safe and alive, he flashed over to him and pulled him into a bone crushing hug, sobbing into his chest.

 

Hearing cars squealing to stop, Henry lifted his head to see police cars and an ambulance arriving and Joe and Captain Singh running over to them, demanding to know what was going on. He watched as Snart quickly explained how they just happened to be strolling through the neighborhood when they saw streaks of blue and yellow lightning heading for the house and decided to check it out.

 

Looking away from the scene in front of him, Henry looked back to his son and whispered to him how he was safe and everything was going to be alright from now on.

 

XXXXXX

 

It was only a few days later that Barry asked him to come over to Star Labs to help the team with someone that had been held prisoner by Zoom. He arrived just in time to see Harry and Joe finish cutting off the mask that the person had been wearing. He stopped in his tracks in the doorway when the mask was removed to reveal none other than himself. In shock, everyone froze and Henry found himself saying only one thing.

 

“Holy Shit.” Everyone turned jumped and turned to him at the sudden words, Barry even more shocked to hear his father curse. His doppelganger first looked at him with confusion at seeing him before breaking out into laughter, drawing the attention back to him. A sudden thought hit him as he looked to the other. Approaching the laughing man, Henry rolled back his right sleeve to show him the name underneath. “Jason?” The man stopped his laughter and stared at the name before looking up at Henry and breaking out in a large grin, quickly rolled back his left sleeve to show henry’s own name, written in his handwriting.

 

“Henry?” It was odd to hear his own voice talk back, but he could help but mirror the other’s grin. Both began to laugh and hugged. “It’s good to finally meet you, was wondering where you’ve been all this time.”

 

“I’m glad to meet you too. You wouldn’t believe my confusion at seeing a name without a symbol,” Henry replied. At the other’s head tilt, he shook his head. “I’ll explain later.”

 

XXXXXX

 

Jay and Henry comfortably next to each other on the couch as they enjoyed the movie on the screen before them. Next to them sat James in a brightly colored set of pajamas, and on his other side sat his soulmate and Axel’s mother, Zoey, in a matching set of pajamas. In the chair on their right was Joe, who fell asleep during the first half of the movie, and Caitlin who had her head laying comfortable on Joe’s chest and was watching the movie with a content face. On the chair sat Cisco and Lisa cuddling and whispering to each other with smiles on their faces. On the floor in a practical pile was Barry and his mates, Snart was leaning on the front of the couch with Barry seated between his legs, Iris laid on Snart’s right shoulder with her arms wrapped around Barry. Axel laid on the left in front of his parents with his head on Barry’s left leg. With his head on Barry’s right was Mark with Shawna laying in his arms while one hand was holding Barry’s right hand.

 

Looking around to taking in the content and happy air everyone, Henry couldn’t help but sigh. Jay looked away from the screen to look at him with a raised eyebrow. He just smiled in return and looked back to the movie, which Jay copied with a shrug. As taking the scene playing on the screen, Henry felt himself relax as he realized that no matter what life has to throw at them, with everyone by each other’s side, everything is going to be alright in the end.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> And with this, the story has finally come to an end. Thank you to everyone who has stuck with me and this story for this long. And to anyone who finds this after, i hope you had fun reading this story and glad you didn't have to suffer through the 10 months it took me to write this all.

**Author's Note:**

> I'll get the next part out as soon as I finish it!


End file.
